Quote:
Originally Posted by RTrider
I also have a 38Q, but a '14. I find the solar panel helps, but 100 watt unit is not enough with 4 batteries. I am in FL, but I have partial shade when in storage. I have found that turning off the inverter disconnect right behind the solar charge controller reduces the battery drain. I wish I had the connector for additional solar panels like shown in the picture posted by creative parts. It would make adding additional solar very easy.
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This is where we really can solve or head off some of our problems if we get down and search out better ways to do things. One is the inverter. Since we are not using the AC power when the RV is stored, it really should be turned off when we don't need it as it is then just a drain on the batteries1
But we often talk about there being parasitic loads that are not cut off when we simply flip the battery cutoff switch. So if the situation really is a problem and once we know about the things not cut off, consider what else might be done.
Most electrical items do have fuses or breakers to cut them off when things go wrong, os if we are not in the RV for something like most of the winter and we have problems, one solution to consider is removing those fuses or flipping the breakers feeding those parasitic drains!
It is considered a safety item by the builders and they are especially worried about lawsuits if somebody walks out the door and the step are not extended,
somebody gets killed by CO2 while sleeping in the RV and such. But that is where I do some thinking about what I am doing with my RV during the winter! Over winter storage, I DO NOT have anybody sleeping in it nor anybody but me using the steps, so turning those safety items off is acceptable to me! When living further North and where battery charging was much more difficult, pulling the fuses to totally kill the drains made more sense.
But we each need to think what it takes to do it best for our situation.
Are you okay if you reduce the battery drain by pulling the fuse on the CO detector?
Are you okay if the proapne detector is not needed when you turn the propane tank valve off at the end of the season?
How about radio presets that tend to drain the start battery? Are they handy enough that you want to keep them or do you wantto pull the fuse onthem, too?
See what I mean? It has to be a personal decison about how you best do the storage!
I think Creative may have the best solution when he uses the RV often enough that storage doesn't count! Just keep driving to keep the thing in good shape!